1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a seed peeling apparatus for automatically removing seed coats from seeds such as of spinach and lawn grass or cracking the seed coats to increase the germinating rate of the seeds.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, a seed of an angiosperm such as spinach is composed of a relatively hard seed coat (exocarp) of about 2 to 4 mm in outer diameter and a seed core (stripped seed; endocarp) of about 1 to 3 mm in diameter which is enclosed in the seed coat. Though the seed coat functions to protect the seed core, it tends to hinder the germination of the seeds. Accordingly when the seeds are sown as they are, coated with the seed coats, the germinating rate of the seeds becomes remarkably low.
For instance, the Korean lawn grass native to China and the Korean Peninsula is broadly planted in a golf course because it is tolerant of blight and noxious insects. However, the seeds of lawn grass, when being coated with the seed coats, is low in germinating rate, i.e. about 15% at the most. Then, as one possible way for increasing the germinating rate of the seeds of the lawn grass, attempts are now being made to remove the seed coats from the seeds by hand before being planted. In this case, the germinating rate of the stripped seeds without seed coats could be improved, whereas the work of peeling off the seed coats from the seeds would be onerous and irrational.
In order to effectively peel the seeds, there has been used a pressure roller-type seed peeling apparatus in which the seeds are passed through between rotating rollers coming into pressure contact with each other so as to crush the seed coats. This apparatus however has entailed a disadvantage in that the seed cores enclosed in the seed coats were often damaged. In a case of peeling &he seeds with fibrous or sticky seed coats, the seeds must be cooled to make the seed coats brittle. Nevertheless, the problem in that the seed cores are damaged as stated above still remains. Therefore, with the conventional pressure roller-type seed peeling apparatus, the germinating rate of the seeds could not be increased over 30%. Moreover, the apparatus of this type is quite bulky and expensive.
However, the stripped seed which is obtained by completely removing the seed coat therefrom entails a problem such as deterioration to considerably shorten the life of the seeds. Therefore, the seeds have been desired to be preserved without deterioration for a long time.